Shatrughan Sinha has always praised Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance.
Highlights
- Shatrughan Sinha has supported Arvind Kejriwal's demand for statehood
- He has always praised Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance
- Arvind Kejriwal has been protesting for 6 days at Lt Governor's house
It's been six days and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers haven't moved an inch from the guest room sofa at Lieutenant Governor's official home. His
sit-in protest demanding a meeting with the Lt Governor Anil Baijal to discuss a host of issues, including the "strike" by IAS officers and full statehood for Delhi, has many critics. However, Mr Kejriwal's
dharna was backed by a BJP leader, well a side-lined BJP parliamentarian.
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha has supported Mr Kejriwal's demand for full statehood and said that it was in fact "a very strong" demand of the BJP. Calling him a "gentleman politician", Mr Sinha wondered why then there is a stiff opposition to his demand?
"The
dharna of mass leader & gentleman politician Arvind says it all. Dear Sir! Full statehood for Delhi has been a very strong demand of BJP & now when Arvind is asking for it why this stiff opposition?" the BJP rebel tweeted this morning.
In another tweet, he referenced the Rajesh Khanna-starrer
Roti to emphasise the need to address people's grievances before it's late. "Let's shed our arrogance/ego for the sake of Delhi and its people & work for a cause.....or else the famous song of yester years in the great & late Manmohan Desai's film "
Roti" may come true - "
Ye public hai sab janti hai". Lets address their genuine grievances before it's too late Sir. Sooner the better. Jai Hind!" he said.
Mr Sinha has always praised the AAP chief and his model of governance. He has even called the AAP the "
baap" (father) of all political parties.
Earlier this year, before the Delhi High Court restored membership of the AAP's 20 disqualified lawmakers, Mr Sinha had termed the Election Commission's recommendation for their debarment as "politics of vendetta".
"Individually I hold all political parties, especially Kejriwal, in high esteem for their credibility, struggle and commitment towards society," he had said in a tweet last year.
Mr Sinha isn't the only one backing the
AAP's dharna. A number of leaders from various
opposition parties have pledged support to the protest, attacking the BJP-led government at the centre.
The Kejriwal government says many of its schemes for the public have been stalled as IAS officers have not been attending meetings called by ministers or taking their calls in protest against an alleged assault on Delhi's Chief Secretary in February. Mr Kejriwal alleged that the officers were being "pressurised by the BJP" to continue their strike.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said the issue pointed to a situation "worse than the murder of democracy". West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee and her counterpart from Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan appealed to the centre to resolve the problem "immediately".
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury blamed the central government for what he called "using the office of the LG to obstruct" the Delhi government from discharging its constitutional duties.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the BJP, a party that has not been in power in Delhi in the last 20 years, was taking "revenge on the people of Delhi".
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who launched his own political party earlier this year, said "interference" in the functioning of an elected government is unacceptable in a democracy.
The Congress has, however, trashed the protest and called it an "excuse" to not work. Senior leader
Sheila Dikshit, who thrice ruled Delhi before AAP came to power in 2013, said it was "completely unacceptable" that the head of the government was sitting on a "
dharna" at the Lt Governor's house when the citizens of the national capital were suffering.
"People of Delhi are very disappointed because they brought him with a huge majority and this is how he is treating them?" asked Ms Dikshit.